The Center for Archaeological Studies, CAS, was originally founded by Texas State University to conduct archaeological research of the Spring Lake area. Over time it has come to include the Aquarena Springs area and any new prehistoric or historic excavations deemed necessary as the university itself grows. Although CAS receives some funding from the university it is a public entity and a state recognized research center. CAS is unique in that it does not fall solely under academia or cultural resource management (CRM). They are open for both options as a means of revenue and research.
At CAS I started off the semester being introduced to the center itself, a brief tour and introduction to the people that made it all work. The same day I dove into the work at hand. For the first several weeks I was made familiar with the library of reports and the resources available within CAS. When I started working with CAS they had just moved to a new building and had received a donation of books from well-known Texas Archaeologist, Dee Ann Story. Needless to say, unpacking and checking through some 20-25 boxes of reports and books took some time. Archaeological reports within CAS are separated by counties. There are 254 counties in Texas and these counties are divided into five different geographic regions. Along with shelving these reports, I had to check for duplicates already on the shelves and then with Alkek library to see if they had copies. Any copies that we did not need were sent to Alkek and those that neither needed were to be placed in a book sale to raise funds for CAS.
After all the report shelving and library work was accomplished, I was introduced into the sorting of remains from archaeological sites. The site that I have been working with is an excavation at Aquarena Springs done by Dr. Bousman. The excavation was done in June of 2006. I sorted through screenings that were found under burned rock. The screenings are delineated into three different sizes; ¼ inch, 1/8 inch, and fine materials. The screenings show evidence of small mammal consumption in the way of burned and processed faunal remains. Along with the faunal remains are lithic materials from the production of lithic tools. Aquarena Springs is one of the longest and oldest inhabited areas in North America. It dates back to the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Being able to study the kind of remains that are found in hunter-gatherer campsites of the late Pleistocene epoch is of great interest to me; as the peopling of the New World is my area of interest.
The work that I have had the opportunity to undertake at CAS has been a great learning experience and has helped me to have a better understanding of the process of analyzing archaeological remains. I understand from an abstract stance how CRM firms function and their responsibilities here in Texas while still understanding how the academic research side can apply and what the benefits are. Having this background will do nothing short of prepare me for a career in archaeology and give me invaluable insight into the necessity of both CRM and academic archaeological work while providing me with some applicable, real-world skills.